Day of the Doppelganger
by Father Hulk
Summary: King Dedede's reign of terror is starting to be overwhelming, until Meta Knight invents a machine that could help Kirby end the strife in Dream Land. Read and Review please!


Day Of The Doppelganger

By Father Hulk

A/N: Hey everyone! Here's a quick and sweet Kirby fanfic I thought up while watching the World Series and playing **Nightmare in Dreamland.** Enjoy!

King Dedede's reign of terror continues. Every day, monsters ran rampant throughout Dream Land, crushing villages and killing townsfolk, burning and destroying everything in their path. Citizens lived in constant fear, not knowing whether they'd be alive the next day or not.

But there were some…who resisted! From the fallen planet of Pop Star came Kirby, Star Warrior! He was small—about half a foot high—was pink in color and lacked any speaking ability save for copying what he heard others say… but he was indeed a mighty warrior. He was gifted with the ability to inhale almost everything in his path, and those foes bearing a special power granted their power to Kirby. Along with his friends, Tiff and Tuff, and the wisdom of the Great Kabu, Kirby valiantly fought back against King Dedede's assault on Dream Land. But he is starting to feel overwhelmed.

It was on a particular Saturday that we meet Tiff, who is on lookout duty at the edge of Cappy Town.

"Hmm…" she said to herself, climbing up a tree and looking left and right. "It looks all clear to me." She sighed and plopped down on a branch. "When will these attacks stop?" she moaned. "I want to see the happy Dream Land I once remembered…" She saw Kirby walk underneath the tree and look up. She gave him the thumbs-up, meaning it was all clear, and he nodded and walked the other way.

Tiff had started to doze off when the ground shook with a massive tremor. "Yikes!" she cried, struggling to hold onto her branch. "What was that?" Her question was answered as she looked out to the horizon and saw a huge metal robot stomping towards the village. "AAAAH!" she screamed, and she clambered down the tree to alert the villagers and Kirby.

She was met by her brother, Tuff, in the center of town. "Tuff, there's a monster coming!" she cried.

"I know!" he said, all out of breath. "It's coming from that way!" He pointed back in the direction he came from.

Tiff hesitated. "No, it's coming from _that_ way," she said, pointing in the direction _she_ came from.

"Huh? Then that means… there's two of them!" Tuff cried frantically. Just then, Kirby came running from a third direction and pointed that way, hopping up and down.

"Great…" Tiff muttered. "Come on, Kirby, we have work to do."

"Kirby!" Kirby said, nodding determinedly. He ran ahead of Tiff and Tuff to the spot where all 3 monsters would converge.

The monsters were huge. One of them, the one Tiff had seen, was a large, square robot with numerous flashing lights and glowing panels, and a large battery sticking out of its back. The second was a huge jellyfish, with numerous tentacles and laser-beam shooting eyes. And the third was simply a large walking rock with eyes.

Kirby stood looking up at the towering beasts, trying not to show nervousness but couldn't help quivering a little.

"You're going to need power to do this," Tiff whispered. "We should look for an ability for you."

"Kirby Kirby.." he said, nodding. He stood against the monsters, keeping them still while Tiff and Tuff scrambled around the field, looking for any creatures with special abilities. Finally, Tiff came running back, holding a Sparky by the antennae.

"Quick, Kirby, eat this guy!" Tiff said. Kirby nodded and gulped down the Sparky, and in a blast of white light, he transformed into Electric Kirby, with a glowing hat of flaming electricity. "Ah, you look so strong!" Tiff cooed. "Now go zap those monsters!"

"Kirrrrrby!" Kirby roared, and he ran up to the foot of the Rock monster and let loose a volley of electricity, hoping to shatter the beast. The attack, however, was ineffective, and the Rock monster kicked Kirby several feet away. The Robot advanced and picked Kirby up in its steely claw. Kirby electrified himself again, and the Robot dropped him, but there didn't seem to be any damage. The Jellyfish fired lasers at Kirby, who nimbly dodged them, then ran up to the Jellyfish and zapped him… with no result.

"It's no good!" Tuff cried. "We're just not causing enough damage!"

Tiff thought hard, then said, "Wait! I've got an idea! Kirby, hold them off for a minute or two more!""

"Kirrrby…" Kirby whined, upset that he wasn't hurting the monsters. He resorted to flying rapidly from one point to another, evading the monsters' grip. But just when the Robot managed to snag him, it suddenly deactivated.

"Yoink!" Tiff cried happily, dropping to the ground with the battery pack she pulled from the back of the robot. She handed it to Kirby. "Here. Hold this and then use the electricity. It should amp it up."

"Kirby!" Kirby said, winking at Tiff and smiling. He held the battery on top of his electric hat, focused his energies, and let loose a volley of electricity. This time it was so powerful that bolts of lightning actually came from his hat and struck the monsters, and they got hit so many times that they virtually disintegrated.

"Whew…." Kirby sighed, taking off the electric hat, which vanished.

"Oh, thank heavens that's over!" Tiff cried, dropping to her knees. Then she ran over and hugged Kirby. "Kirby you were great!" Kirby pecked Tiff's cheek, and Tiff giggled.

"Way to go, dude," Tuff said, slapping the pink puffball on the back. "Your power is awesome!"

"Indeed it is," said a steely voice from the shadows.

"Who's there?" Tiff asked in alarm.

"It is I," Meta Knight said, stepping into the light, his cape blowing elegantly in the wind behind him, his golden sword tucked in his belt. "Kirby's power is indeed great, but it is not enough to stop the fury of the evil King. Try as you may, eventually he will get the better of you."

"So what can we do?" Tuff asked.

"I do have one plan," Meta Knight said. "A way for you to stop the problem at its source. Come with me." Meta Knight led them to the valley, where a large machine sat. It was square, and at one end was a small tube with a mouthpiece, and on top was a large horn-shaped protrusion (like on the old record players).

"What is it?" Tuff asked, gawking up at the machine.

"This is the Digestion Enhancement Device, or DED." Meta Knight said. "It will allow Kirby to eat and absorb creatures much bigger than himself, or creatures he normally couldn't inhale. He will then not only absorb their powers, but he will transform into an exact replica of the creature."

"Wow…" Tiff murmured.

"So what are we gonna do with it?" Tuff asked.

"I will tell you. Listen carefully."

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"Now what is this all about again?" King Dedede asked as he walked along side Meta Knight that evening.

"I have discovered a cache of treasure," Meta Knight said. "Since I have no use for it, I will let you have it."

"Heh heh heh, all right!" Dedede cackled. "That should give me some funding for more monsters! Ha ha ha!"

"It is down in the valley," Meta Knight said, pointing with his golden sword. "It is behind that cluster of rocks. Go."

"Alright, I'm goin', I'm goin'," Dedede grumbled. He descended into the valley and carefully made his way over to the rock cluster. "Hmm… no treasure. Why that stupid little…"

"NOW!" shouted a girl's voice.

"Eh?!?!" Dedede said, spinning back around. A loud, harsh, high-pitched sucking sound was heard, and Dedede was pulled off the ground and disappeared behind the rocks.

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"Ah, welcome back, sir!" Escargoon said as King Dedede lumbered back into the palace. "So what did Meta Knight have to show you?"

"Shut up!" Dedede said, taking out his hammer.

"But… but what did I say?" Escargoon sputtered.

"You know what," Dedede said, glaring at the snail-man. "You just get the heck out of my castle. Right now!"

"What???"

"You heard me. You're fired. Now go!"

"I demand an explanation!" Escargoon roared. "I have done nothing wrong!"

Dedede sauntered over to Escargoon. "Oh, you want an explanation, do you? Here!" He smacked him with the hammer, so hard that Escargoon became a pancake. Dedede picked up the pancake and threw it like a Frisbee off the balcony. "And stay out!"

"All right," Dedede said, looking around. "Time to make things right." He explored his castle a little, until he found the machine that was used to contact the Monster Salesman. "Ah ha! Here we go." He sat down in the chair and pushed the button.

"Ah, hello, King!" the Monster Salesman said, smiling. "What can I do for you today?"

"I'll tell you what you can do," Dedede shouted. "Or rather, what _I'm_ going to do. I'm taking my business elsewhere!"

"What?"

"That's right. It's over between you and me! Through! Done! Got it?"

The expression of the Monster Salesman twisted in anger. "King Dedede, you will live to regret this!" he roared, and the screen went blank.

"Heh, heh, heh, perfect!" Dedede snickered, rubbing his hands together. "Now, on to phase 2!"

"Mayor! Mayor!" cried a servant to the mayor of Cappy Town, "King Dedede is coming! I saw him walking up the path towards the town!"

"Blast it!" the mayor roared. "He never gives us a moment's peace! Call out the defenses, and will someone please find Kirby!"

"Yes sir!" the servant said, running off again.

King Dedede was met at the gates of town by two dozen soldiers and a host of allied creatures. "Please, do not fear me!" he said, holding his hands up. "I come with news!"

"And what news is that?" the mayor roared, marching forward. "That you just bought a zillion more monsters with which to terrorize us?"

"No! In fact, I've come to sign a peace accord with all of Dream Land!"

Everyone gasped.

"You.. you can't be serious!" the mayor said, befuddled.

"It's true!" Dedede said. "I've had enough of destroying villages and hurting innocent townsfolk. I want to live a life of peace, and I want everyone else to live in peace as well."

The mayor said, "Well if you're truly serious, let's get working on a contract!"

And so it was that the citizens of Cappy Town and King Dedede banged out a solid peace agreement, and signed the document with the power of the Great Kabu, meaning the document could never be torn up or broken. They had just finished hanging it on a tree when they heard the grinding of metal.

"Stop!" cried a sinister voice. It was Escargoon, driving the tank. "Stop this at once!"

"You!" Dedede cried. "I thought I fired you!"

"The King Dedede I know would never commit such nonsense! I therefore dub you to be a FAKE!" And with that, Escargoon fired a plasma blast from the tank's gun turret, which struck Dedede and knocked him backwards.

"Uh oh…" Tiff whispered, looking at her brother. "If he gets hit…"

As the townsfolk watched, Dedede's form slowly melted and shrank, and in a small explosion, turned back into Kirby. A Twinkle Star jumped from Kirby's body onto the ground, and exploded to reveal the _real_ King Dedede.

"Kirby?! What in blue blazes is going on?" The mayor roared.

"You see!" Escargoon declared from the tank. "He was an imposter!"

"Allow me to explain," Meta Knight said, dropping from a tree.

"You!" Dedede roared. "You sneaky little…"

"Hush up!" Tuff snarled, kicking Dedede in the stomach.

"I used a replicating device to have Kirby assume the form of King Dedede so as to end the pain and suffering you were all going through," Meta Knight explained. "With Kirby in Dedede's form, he severed ties with the Monster Salesman, and signed a contract blessed with magic that would end his torment on Dream Land."

"Well we'll just see about that!" Dedede cackled, and he whipped out his hammer and slammed it into the contract, which was hanging on the nearby tree. His hammer ricocheted and slammed him in the face, knocking him backward.

"As you can see," Meta Knight said coldly, "Though the contract was not signed by the real king, it is the king's handwriting, and thus he must abide by it."

Dedede's glare turned on Kirby. "You puffy little annoyance!" he snarled. "Who do you think you are?" He went to grab Kirby, but a blue aura surrounded the Star Warrior and pushed Dedede's hand back.

"The peace accord clearly states that you can do no harm to the citizens of Dream Land, King," Meta Knight said. "Looks like your reign of terror is ended."

Dedede's shoulders slumped in defeat. He turned and moped back to the tank. "What am I gonna do, Escargoon?" he complained as they drove away.

"You could get a hobby," the snail-man suggested. "Do you like collecting stamps?"

Dedede wept as the tank disappeared over the horizon.

THE END!

Day Of The Doppelganger has been written by Father Hulk

© 2004 PDG Network in association with the St. Eva Church

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